Weekend gang sweep a team effort

Monday

Jul 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2013 at 7:13 AM

STOCKTON - Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said the city has experienced an increase in violent crime as temperatures have risen in June and July, but authorities have responded by turning up the heat on criminals.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said the city has experienced an increase in violent crime as temperatures have risen in June and July, but authorities have responded by turning up the heat on criminals.

Sunday night, local, state and federal law enforcement officials completed Operation Heatwave, a three-day mission targeting known criminals throughout San Joaquin county. Five teams consisting of more than 60 officers fanned out to locate 351 felons, serving arrest warrants and conducting parole searches, said Lt. Jim Pickens of the Stockton Police Department.

One of the focal points was locating gang members identified under Operation Ceasefire, said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Police Department. Operation Ceasefire directly engages gang members and issues them an ultimatum.

"The primary objective of this mission was to locate subjects belonging to groups and gangs identified in Operation Ceasefire who continue to commit violent crimes by using gun violence," Silva said. "The Stockton Police Department and our collaborative partners want to send a strong and clear message to the gangs identified through Operation Ceasefire: Either get onboard with the program or face relentless pursuit from law enforcement."

The mission included representatives of the Stockton, Lodi and Manteca police departments, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol, the San Joaquin County Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, officials said. Local authorities also received federal assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service, which funded the operation, Silva said.

"The message a mission like this sends to the public is that it's not just the Stockton Police Department doing it by themselves," said Sgt. Mark Richmond of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, who oversaw one of the five teams deployed during Operation Heatwave. "It's all of these agencies working together, sharing information and showing a united front. We're all in this together, from the local agencies to the state and federal government. We're all working hard to make this county a better place to live."

Authorities made 65 arrests over three days, including 40 felony arrests, police said. Officers conducted 64 traffic stops, and confiscated 10 firearms. They also seized 22.61 grams of methamphetamine and a small amount of crystal meth.

On Friday, the first day of the operation, officers made 17 felony arrests, seized four weapons and found an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, Silva said.

One of the people arrested Friday was Steve Gallegos, 43, who drove the wrong way on Highway 99 while fleeing from police before being taken into custody near Highway 120 and Interstate 5.

Richmond and his team went to six locations Friday without finding any felons on their list before making their first arrest about four hours into the mission. Danny Somoeun, a 25-year-old documented gang member, was arrested on a no-bail warrant for drugs, gun possession and battery, authorities said.

"The people that are wanted know they are wanted in many cases, so they don't necessarily want us to know where they live so we can come knock on the door," Richmond said. "It's not unusual for them to be less than honest about where they live, but it doesn't mean we'll stop looking for them."